In what could be the first step towards the collapse of the Big East football/basketball structure, officials of the 7 non-football playing Big East basketball schools held a meeting in New York on Monday to discuss breaking off on their own. According to sources familiar with the talks, the conference included not only athletic directors, but Presidents as well. A time frame of six months was set up to make a decision whether to break off on their own or continue to stay within the frame work of a conference whose configuration has changed steadily over the last several months. That time frame may be predicated on the nature of a new television football/basketball contract the Big East is currently trying to put together.

The seven schools are concerned about the additions of full members Memphis, Temple, Tulane, Central Florida, SMU and Houston, and football-only member East Carolina over the next two years to replace departing Syracuse, Pitt, Louisville, Rutgers and Notre Dame.

“The basketball schools are not thrilled with Tulane and what they will do to the league’s RPI,” said a league source from a football-playing member. “They were not all that excited with that addition.”

The source added that “the basketball schools would have fallen off the ledge if we would have added East Carolina as a full member and what that would have done to the basketball league.”

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Big East Basketball Schools to Consider Breaking Away from League, 10.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating

Well if they do split then that should free up Louisville for a move to the ACC in 13 rather than 2014. The only thing I would like to see Louisville as well as other departing members receive is their shares of the NCAA credits that are worth a lot of money. This will more than likely be a vote not to split, but to dissolve the conference entirely if I read the articles correctly. So if this happens then Louisville might be able to get away for nothing unlike other departing members who had to pay an exit fee. Hopefully the Cards land in the ACC for the start of the academic year in 2013 for that would be sweet. Go Cards